Too Soon To Tell
Many if not most English Bowes assume they are related to the Durham Bowes ancestors of Queen Elizabeth, but no one has provided any proof of it. The assumption is probably widely made because it's the most accessible history of Bowes online. Surname mapping suggests most Bowes have origins around Helmsley, not in the village of Bowes from which the Durham Bowes are said to have taken their name.
Extensive parish and other records research, combined with expanded Y chromosome DNA studies of male English Bowes, is badly needed to determine how many different lineages there are and to help English Bowes find their place among them.
[Sorry this page is a little discombobulated. I got sidetracked and published it in draft form by mistake. Will get back to fix it ... 8/17/11]
When most people think of the Bowes surname in England, an old Durham family from early medieval times and connected with Streatlam Castle comes to mind. While there may be other, different Bowes families from Durham, in this section "Durham Bowes" refers only to the historic family described here.
Although not royalty, this aristocratic family featured a number of notable individuals throughout history (not all from Durham), including a Chief Justice, various knights, politicians, wealthy industrialists, and a jeweler to the Queen. Established in administrative roles early on, their family resume suggests they may have had ties to the Normans. Later, the 1767 marriage of Mary Eleanor Bowes to John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore, formed the Bowes-Lyon family, an ancestral line of the late Queen Elizabeth.
While most Bowes appear to originate around Helmsley, an author of fourteen books on northeast England history writes that this Bowes lineage took its name from the village of Bowes, once in northeast Yorkshire, now in Durham:
Today Bowes is primarily famed for the Bowes family, ancestors of the present Queen Mother, who took their name from the village of Bowes, their place of origin. It was a member of this same family, John Bowes, the Earl of Strathmore, who established the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle in the nineteenth century [emphasis added]. [1]
If this is true, this family may not share paternity with many English Bowes whose ancestry more likely originated in Helmsley.
British History Online adds:
The family of Bowes held lands [in Bowes Parish] and the church of Bowes in the 12th or 13th century, and in 1473–4 the overlord was receiving the farm of 1 lb. of cummin of the free rent of William Bowes in Bowes, which was still paid in 1538–40. [2]
What's the Connection to Bowes Castle?
There is a story all over the internet and in some historical texts that is unproven and almost certainly false that Bowes Castle takes its name from having been inhabited by a William, placed there with 500 archers to defend the castle and area, who consequently became William de Arcubus (Arc>Bows/Archers>Bowes). This William is believed to be a descendent of, and first recipient of a coat of arms for, the famous Durham Bowes family mentioned above. The apparent fallacy is described and explained here.
Instead, as stated in Bulmer's 1890 History and Directory of North Yorkshire, "Osbert, son of Fulco de Bowes ("de Bowes" here presumably indicating he was from Bowes village), was one of the King's commissioners for superintending the erection of the castle, and this appears to have been the only connection the family had with the fortress." [3]
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Coat of Arms
Arms belong to individuals not families, though arms can be inherited (and by a daughter if her father has no sons). Children must ‘difference’ their arms to distinguish them from those of a living father, although the eldest son can remove his identifier once his father dies. Therefore, an individual’s coat of arms may not remain the same throughout their lives. [31]
Coats of Arms for the Durham Bowes are being added to the family branches pages as they are discovered. But who used this one?
[3.5]
The sole entry in Fox-Davies' Armorial Families, 1899, refering to Bowes is that of Richard Bowes, b. 20 Aug 1859, eldest son of George Bowes and Elizabeth Gordon. Married 16 Aug 1892 Blanche Bunge. Issue: Gladys Marguerite. He used and claimed Armorial Bearings but no authority for anything armorial had been registered at the College of Arms. The Arms which he claimed varied between Ermine, three bows paleways in fesse gules. Crest: Six arrows in saltire enfiled with a ribbon; and the same arms with the addition of a chief azure, thereon a swan argent, holding in its beak a gem ring or, a covered cup between two leopards__ faces or. Crest- a demi leopard guardant gules, holding between the paws a bundle of arrows or, barbed argent, and banded with a ribbon azure. [3.7]
To date, no one that I am aware of has commissioned research from the College of Arms ($700) to track down whatever information they have about the circumstances and justification for the issuance of any Bowes coats of arms. Anyone who can help by paying for the needed research by the College of Arms can refer to the letter I received from them about it.
Origin
The family's origin is described in a story set in the 11th c. that many believe to be true, but for which there is no good evidence to date. The debate centers around whether the originator of this line was William de Arcubus or Fulco de Bowes, and whether the former occupied Bowes Castle and was granted the family coat of arms there. The three bows on the crest are believed by some to memorialize an army of archers housed with William in Bowes Castle to defend England from marauding Scots. For a complete discussion, see William de Arcubus or Fulco do Bowes?.
There were other Bowes families referred to generally and in particular by Surtees in his The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham (1816-1840). He states: "that there were various sprinklings of the ancient name of Bowes, hesitating between gentry and yeomanry, that occur in wills and registers throughout Allertonshire and Richmondshire. The families established at Ellerbeck and at Angram Grange, held considerable landed property for several descents."
Branches - Court of Heralds
One researcher found that "the Court of Heralds has two main families registered" [4]:
1. The Bowes of Streatlam Castle (later including Gibside), North Yorkshire
This family's history begins, as far as we can be certain, in 1310 when Adam Bowes married an heiress with surname Trayne and thereby obtained Streatlam Castle, the main family seat until the 18th century. Adam Bowes was a lawyer and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, also Bailiff of Richmond 1332-1334. [5]
This family is now extinct and the castle destroyed, however,
This family's history from 1713-1973, which includes the period during which they accumulated great wealth as coal mine owners in the 18th century, is further described here.
RSS feed for Artist's Research Project centered on Streatlam Castle and this Bowes family.
2. A Bowes Family Descending from William de Bowes of York
This family is mentioned in the 15th century and includes the Lord Mayor of London in 1545, a jeweller to Queen Elizabeth I, and the first [English?] Ambassador to Russia. [6]
Bowes Knights
The Knights of England: A complete record... (use search feature of browser page for circumstances surrounding knighthood appointments of Bowes individuals)
Deserving of a comprehensive website all their own, extensive coverage of the Durham Bowes family lies beyond the scope of these pages, at least for now. The Durham University Library may be a good resource for anyone researching this line or other Bowes from the area.
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1. Simpson, David. "Place-Name Meanings A-D," Article. England's North East (http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/PlaceNameMeaningsAtoD.html: accessed 30 July 2011), Bowes entry.
2.
3. Bulmer, Bulmer's Topography, History and Directory (Private and Commercial) of North Yorkshire with Map, S & N Publishing, 2002.
3.5. Mullins of London, "Heraldic Scroll Of England And Wales - County And Personal Arms" (folded chart with coats of arms at borders and central locales), no date.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.